At refugee camp, Haley vows more aid for Syrians
ZAATARI REFUGEE CAMP, Jordan — His skull and jaw wrapped in bandages, the young Syrian refugee stared nonchalantly into a small black box at a supermarket in this sprawling, dust-swept refugee camp. The box scanned his iris to identify him, charged his account and sent him on his way.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley would later tout the iris-scanners as a fraudcutting tool boosting efficiency for the more than $6.5 billion the U.S. has spent helping those whose lives have been upended by Syria’s harrowing civil war.
Yet as Haley pledged Sunday that the U.S. would increase support, her message was diluted by Trump’s own vow to put “America First,” his planned budget cuts and hardline position on admitting refugees.
“We’re the No. 1 donor here through this crisis. That’s not going to stop. We’re not going to stop funding this,” Haley said. “The fact that I’m here shows we want to see what else needs to be done.”
The U.S. president’s message to Syrians couldn’t be more different.
Trump once called his predecessor “insane” for letting in Syrian refugees. As president, he tried to bar them from the U.S., describing them as a national security threat.
And Trump has called for drastic cuts to U.S. funding for the United Nations and its affiliated agencies — such as those aiding people still in Syria and those who’ve fled.
Haley told reporters accompanying her to Jordan that the U.S. was “not pulling back” and was in fact “engaging more.”